Cassia floribunda

Cassia floribunda is a tender bush of mild climate, appreciated for its very long summer and autumn flowering in beautiful clusters of dark yellow flowers. This plant, belonging to the family Fabaceae, a cousin of Mimosa and Robinia, offers regular flowers that evoke golden buttons rather than peas. They bloom on foliage that is often evergreen, of a light and vibrant green, cut into large leaflets. It can be placed in a large pot to adorn the terrace during the summer in most regions. Its use in the ground, including in dry and poor soil, will be reserved for the south coast in groups or as a standalone plant. 

Cassia floribunda is a very branching bush with a bushy and spreading habit and rapid growth. It is quite wide and its branches are flexible, it develops large lower branches and its light green foliage is evergreen. This variety is said to be derived from the cross-breeding of Cassia multiglandulosa, native to Mexico, Guatemala and western regions of South America, and C. septemtrionalis, another botanic species native to Mexico and Central America. It will measure 1.5 to 2 metres (5ft to 7ft) in all directions at maturity, sometimes more in favourable conditions. Its flowering lasts a long time, from June-July to November. Its cup-shaped, wide, bright yellow flowers, are gathered in clusters measuring 15 to 30 cm (5.9 to 11.8 in). This hybrid does not produce pods. Its flexible branches bear leaves cut into large, bright green leaflets, resembling those of acacias and robinias. Its hardiness does not exceed -5°C (23 °F), but its resistance to summer drought is excellent.

The Cassia floribunda is a very beautiful conservatory bush for cool climates, and a good plant for dry gardens in mild climates. Its flexible habit and vigorous lateral branching also allow it to be trained against a south-facing wall, exposed to the sun and sheltered from cold winds. When planted in the ground, it can be placed as an isolated specimen, or in a group of shrubs that appreciate the same growing conditions: Caesalpinia gilliesii, Sesbania punicea, Indigofera gerardiana, evergreen ceanothus, Solanum rantonettii or Abutilon Suntense. It can be grown in a pot, protected from winter frosts in a greenhouse or a minimally heated conservatory.